Credit: Loiretech
French tooling manufacturer Loiretech has delivered a second component of a mock-up of the ExoMars heat shield to ArianeGroup’s facilities in Saint-Médard-en-Jalles.
The development of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) revised ExoMars mission, which will deliver the Rosalind Franklin rover to the surface of the Red Planet, is being led by Thales Alenia Space under a €522 million contract awarded in April 2024. ArianeGroup is part of the industrial team and is responsible for several elements of the mission’s thermal protection system, which will be essential for ensuring the spacecraft survives its entry into the Martian atmosphere.
On 2 December, Loiretech announced that it had delivered a full-scale mock-up of the rear heat shield structure to ArianeGroup. This is the second component mock-up the company has produced for ArianeGroup, following the delivery of a front heat shield mock-up in July.
Both mock-ups will have a cork-based ablative thermal protection material, known as Norcoat® Liège, applied to their surfaces for the initial qualification of the ExoMars thermal protection system.
In July, ArianeGroup ExoMars Programme Manager Jérôme Bertrand confirmed that while Loiretech had been tapped to produce the mock-up for the initial testing, the company would not be responsible for the flight-ready models.
Following the ESA Ministerial Council meeting in Bremen last month, the director of the agency’s Human and Robotic Exploration programme, Daniel Neuenschwander, confirmed that despite a funding shortfall for the programme, ExoMars had received the commitments it needs. ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher has also confirmed NASA contributions to the mission, which include launch services, a braking engine, and radioisotope heater units. The ExoMars mission is currently expected to be launched in 2028.
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